Irina Morozova travels to join her brothers in Siberia, after barely escaping disaster. She hopes for a quiet return to a life among her beloved siblings, but fate intervenes, as the hunt for the Stone continues, dragging her back into the intrigues she hoped she left behind in Europe. With a few new, extraordinary friends and an unexpected new love, Irina resolves to end the quest on a journey that takes her from the balls of provincial Siberian city, to the cultural melting pot of the Chinese border towns, to the wilds of Lake Baikal, where her greatest trial awaits.